School of Documentary Film 2015/2016

The programme of the 5th annual School of Documentary Film took place from October 2nd 2015 to March 26th 2016 in Zagreb. Under the guidance of lecturers Ana Hušman, Hrvoslava Brkušić, Igor Bezinović, Nebojša Slijepčević and Oliver Sertić, the School was attended by 11 participants who mastered all the expertise necessary to successfully produce a documentary film.

The participants further refined their know-how with the help of numerous Croatian and foreign professionals and documentary filmmakers such as Dinka Radonić, Ivan Zelić, Boris Mitić, Blaž Habuš and Vanja Jambrović.

It is unthinkable for a well-brought-up girl to “marry into a cloakroom, and form an alliance with a parcel”, Oscar Wilde once wrote. Yet, more often that not, this is precisely what today’s young women do – marry into uncertainty. How does a Croatian woman embrace her future husband’s family and what kind of welcome does it give her? Moving into an apartment inherited by her boyfriend from his late grandmother, the author falls heir to grandma’s old and heavy fur coat. In a conversation with her soon-to-be new family about grandma Vida’s past, we find that the truth about what binds and divides us can sometimes more easily be disclosed to a camera than to a mother, daughter, son, or father. Even if it be sugarcoated with a few layers of Merino wool.

Dražen Puklavec: Go hard or go home, School of Documentary Film 2016, 09’21”

The boys say they play hard, but that this is the only way to play. Football is a weekly ritual, and everybody is welcome- acquaintances, work colleges, friends of friends, just to complete two teams of five. The film follows the aftermath of an event in which „hard“ didn’t mean the same thing for all the players on the field. Passion for winning, exhaustion, a group that does not know each other well and a bit of manly pride are all the ingredients that are needed for good old fashioned fistfight.

When was the tipping point, why is someone sorry and someone laughing, who got stitches and who got kicked from the team- the boys try to explain to themselves and to the author.

Lorna Kunčić: Verticals, School of Documentary Film 2016, 07’33”

Anyone can find themselves lost at the foot of the massif we call life. Just looking up the mountain makes us feel puny; the climb upwards seems unimaginable and the peak looks unconquerable. But should we manage to cast aside our looming doubts and summon all our physical strength and – perhaps even more demandingly – our willpower, we will leave the ground and move to overcome our own limitations. It is precisely this effort to rise to the top which can morph into fundamental everyday life, giving the traveller an indispensable feeling of vitality. “Verticals” tell us the story of unusual life’s callings and the transformation of weakness into strength and art. It is a testimony to the fact that pleasure lies on the other side of fear, that the mountain is a reflection of us and that the view from the top is amazing.

Lidija Jasnić: Marijan, School of Documentary Film 2016, 05’07”

After many years, the authoress visits an old friend. Through the writings and sketches he had once made, he speaks about his old self and about who he is today…

Sonja Lazić: Show, School of Documentary Film 2016, 12’53”

Entertainment, drama, violence…

The communal area in the basement of 4 Šeferova Street in Zagreb makes for a stage setting for strange events. The mysterious noise coming from the cellar is the sound of toilsome rehearsals for the upcoming show, whose protagonists are working with dedication to prepare a spectacle rarely seen in these parts, in their hunt for eternal glory.

Sanja Bistričić: Before the flags, School of Documentary Film 2016, 12’43”

The film is about love and hate, coming of age and acceptance. Đuro is a Croatian punk boy who carries in his heart the wounds of a past which have marked him with an irrational hatred of everything unrelated to his country. Through rebellion and provocation, his punk world-view and way of life grow blemished with loathing and rage. Through a combination of circumstances, his world is shaken up after he meets and falls in love with Elvira, a Serbian girl. This is the story of how life can sometimes set us up with funny and healing paradoxes to teach us about a love which is above the heritage of blood.

Ivan Šušnjar, Karoca, School of Documentary Film 2016, 03’11”

The film introduces us to a home-made racing vehicle crafted out of resourcefulness and a desire for adrenaline – the legendary karoca from Postira, a small town on the Croatian island of Brač. A few wooden boards, an axle, a pair of wheels and a bit of courage are all you need to set out on a crazy ride down the hill, usually in close vicinity to your parents’ house. We find out how the karet has been manufactured for the last few decades.

We present the karet – a perilous heap of planks storming downhill in the eyes of rest of the world and a favorite childhood memory for the people of Brač.

Sara Bernarda Moritz, Bolan, School of Documentary Film 2016, 05’54”

With this film, the authoress contemplates her relationship to her late grandfather.At her grandfather’s funeral ceremony, the family chose to cremate his body. By doing so, they failed their own expectations and left themselves without a physical place to which they could turn their sorrow and their memories of the deceased. The authoress therefore delves into her grandfather’s life history, his personal items and her own mourning, creating a virtual tombstone from what she has found.

The Roman emperor Diocletian returns to the palace which he had had built 1721 years ago. As any other model visitor, he tours the premises under the guidance of a tour guide. After long being a part of the city of Split, the palace is once again becoming a summer house. Diocletian is happy.

Luana Lojić: The Kitchen, School of Documentary Film 2016, 04’00”

An ordinary kitchen, ordinary room-mates and the dynamic of kitchen chats. The fourth film exercise at the School of Documentary Film combines sound with stereotypical online-sourced images in an everyday conversation styled by the microcosmos of the home space: strange names, foods, scars and memories.